Naxals kill one person in Gadchiroli

Nagpur, Oct 22 (UNI) Suspected naxalites killed a man, suspecting him to be a police informer, in Gadchiroli district in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, police said today.

According to police, a group of naxalites, including a woman, came to the weekly market in village Vijapur in Kurkheda tehsil of the district last evening, and accosted Vasudeo Kukru Kurame there.

After beating him up, the outlaws drove the crowd in the market away, a police release said. The naxalites then shot Kurame in the head, killing him on the spot, it added.

Although prima facie it appears that Kurame was killed on suspicion of being an informer, the murder could be the result of a personal enmity, the release said.

Earlier yesterday, five policemen were injured in an encounter with naxalites in the forest near village Kasansur in Etapalli tehsil in the district.

Naxalites triggered a landmine blast when a patrol party was carrying out a combing operation in the area. The outlaws opened fire after the blast, which was returned, police sources said.

Two naxalites were injured in the exchange of fire, it said.

The outlaws triggered another blast and fired another burst when a police squad went into the area to try and take the injured naxalites into custody. Two policemen were injured in the firing, while three others were hurt by the splinters from the mine blast, the sources added.

The encounter took place with about 70 to 80 armed Naxalites, from Platoon, Etapalli and Gatta Dalams. The naxalites later fled into the jungle, taking their injured colleagues with them, the sources said.

All the five injured policemen had been admitted to the district general hospital in Gadchiroli.

UNI